Tilted balance board for gymnasium use



Feb. 18, 1930. c, LQWMAN 1,747,721

TILTED BALANCE BOARD FOR GYMNASIUM USE Filed Ju ly 11, 1927 \NVENTOR C.L. LOWMHN FITTORNEJ'S Patented Feb. 18, 1930 Y e warren srra PATENT, FFlCE CHARLES L. LOWMAN, or Los AnGELns, CALIFORNIA 'IILTED BALANCE BOARD non GYMNASIUM USE Application filed July 11, 1927. Serial No. 204,870.

My invention is a tilted balance board for 'ing boards on which the persons taking the gymnasium use especially intended to give exercises walk may be adjusted in inclinacorrective exercises of different types. tion.

An object of my invention is a tilted bal- My invention is illustrated in the accom- 5 ance board to aid in the correction of faulty panying drawings, in which: 55

posture, to give the proper bearing and car- Figure 1 is a perspective view showing riage to the person taking the exercise, and one manner of using my balance board. to aid cases of fiat feet, pronated ankle, and Figure 2 is a side elevation of the board other distortions of the legs, twists and demounted on supports. 10 viations from the normal. A further object Figure 3 is an end elevation in the direction (59 of my invention is to affect the action of the of the arrow 3 of Fig. 2. brain of the person taking the exercise so Flgure 4 is a side elevation of one of the that a mental hazard in regard to the balance balancing boards without supporting blocks. may be changed to suit the particular person Figure 5 is a side elevation showing my 15 taking the exercise, and so that in taking difboard used in connection with a set of steps. ferent exercises when standing on the board Figure 6 is a side elevation showing the the balancing centers will unconsciously be board mounted on a central supporting block controlling the various muscles which are inand used as a teeter. a sufficiently developed. Figure 7 is a perspective view of a pair of In constructingmy invention I utilize a steps placed together,

pair of longitudinalboards which are spaced Flgure 8 1s a sect1on through one of the slightly apart and inclined downwardly and b0ards. 1lh1 strat1ng the manner of adjusting outwardly from each other, similar to the the nclinat on of same. I ridge of a roof, and between these boards I F1gure 9 1s a perspective view of a suitable may have a vertical board to guide the person pin for fastening the board to the supporting using my apparatus for exercising. This verblocks or trestles.

ticaIboard, however, is removable. In con- The construction of the balancing board is nection with the longitudinal boards of the suhstantlally as follows: balance, I utilize a number of different sup- A pair of end blocks 11 are utilized for ports for the ends of the boards so'that these each board, these pr fera ly aving a flat ends may be raised to different elevations base 12, slde edges 13 at right angles to the above the floor, so that perhaps one end may base, and inclined upper surfaces 14, these be on the floor'level and the other at'acenbeing on an inclination upwardly and insiderable elevation. In addition,-I may use wardly towards each other. The extreme top A one of the supports of any desired heightand surface 15 may be flat and parallel to the base. mount the balance boards as a teeter in order The blocks preferably have parallel front that the development of motor skill may still and rear sides 16 and have an enlarged bore further be increased. 17 therethrough extending from side to side.

To utilize with these boards I have a-se- In a simple construction the supporting H "ries of steps which are made withv heads inboards 18 onwhich the person taking the exclined outwardly and downwardly from a ercise walks and stands may be rigidly secentral ridge. These steps maybe placed at cured to the inclined surfaces of the end the high end of the inclined board in order blocks 11, and thecupper edge is spaced apart that a child with weak feet may not have to so that a vertical board 19 may be placed in jump to the floor from the high end of the the slot 20 between the two boards 18. If it incline. The steps may, be. placed back to is desired to adjust the angles of these boards, backand give the. corrective exercise by a studs, or the like, 21, may be securedto'the person walking up one set of steps. and down end blocks 11 and have adjusting screws 22 the other to increase skill in balance. In threaded therethrough, these screwsengagaddition to the above'features, the support ing w th brackets 23 on each end of ea h of the boards 18, thus changing the transverse inclination of these boards, in which case it would be necessary to have hinges 24 connecting the boards to the blocks 11.

I have found it satisfactory to use balance boards with an over-all length of8 feet, ten feet or twelve feet. The end blocks 11 have been made 6 inches from side to side and about 2 or 3 inches in longitudinal measurement. The lowest edge of the upper surface of the inclined boards 18 has been made 2% inches and the upper edge 3% inches, thus giving a slope of one inch. The insertable or removable board or ridge '19 has its top 1% inches above the base of the end block 11 and this ridge board may be about of an inch in thickness.

The supporting stands or trestles are designated generally by the numeral 25. These have a relatively wide base 26 which is flat and intended to rest on the floor. The sides 27 are upwardly and inwardly inclined at a slight angle. The forward and rearward sides 28 also have a slight upward and inward inclination. The top of these stands has a cut-out section 29, leaving lugs 30 at each end and through these lugs there are bores 31 in alignment.

One manner of using my balance board is illustrated in Fig. 4c in which the board is placed so that its own supporting end blocks 11 rest directly on the floor, in which case the surface of the inclined boards 18 at its lower edge would preferably be from 2 to 4 inches above the floor.

For another type of exercise the board may be placed at an inclination, as shown in Fig. 5, in which one end rests on the end blocks 11 and the other on the supporting-stand at the desired elevation, or as shown in Fig. 2, the supporting stands may be of different heights so that the persons taking the exercises may walk'up and. down these boards or may stand on the boards, at the desired height above the ground. I find it satisfactory to have the supporting blocks in three different heights, approximately 6 inches, 12 inches and 24 inches.

It is desirable to have cent-er blocks 32 similar to the end blocks 11 and with a similar bore extending from side to side, except that these are slightly less in height. By this construction the balancing board may be mounted as a teeter, as shown in Fig. 6,;hav-

ing a center block 32 pivoting on a pin 33, in

order that in taking exercises a person may walk up an inclination until he comes to the centersupport and then tilt the board in the opposite direction and then walk down the inclinatiomor if desired, two people may exercise on opposite ends of the balancing board.

In connection with my balancing board I utilize a set of steps, indicated generally by the numeral 3 1 (Figs. 5 and 7)- n he c nstruction shown I illust ate each set of ps as ha ing a bloc ith a fiat ase .35) and a In the construction shown I have illustrated three treads for each of the sets of steps and and three risers, but it is to be understood that these may be made of any height, with any desired number of steps. The person taking the exercise may walk up one set of steps and down the other, as illustrated in Fig. 7, or as illustrated in Fig. 5 they may walk up the inclined part and down the set of steps, or vice versa.

The use of my balance board and the other appliances utilized therewith is believed to be obvious to those familiar with corrections in disturbances of balance, deformities of the feet and legs, faulty posture, etc. However,

it may be stated that for beginners it is desirable to utilize the center removable board 19 and to have the board close to the floor, or to use treads of less inclination or covered with rubber matting. They may then stand on this board and take various calisthenic exercises. As improvement develops, the balance board may be elevated on one or more of the supporting stands and given different heights. In a further development in exercises, the center ridge board 18 is removed and the persons taking the exercises are required to keep their balance without the aid of this board guiding the movements of their feet. In one form of exercises, the patient walks lengthwise of the board with a weight on his head and should not look down at his feet, but is guided by the feel of the boards to the foot, and by noting when looking straight ahead, the slot between the two boards.

The steps, on account of having their treads tilted, give or afford the board for the same type of exercises as the balance board and are intended to be utilized therewith, as in the manner above described, or inany other suitable way which will suggest itself to the physician or technician prescribing the exerelse.

The feature of having the exercising boards with the outward and downward inclination and also the steps having a similar tread, is notmerely to tilt the feet outwardly but the action-of a person standing or walking on such board or steps causesan outward rotation of the leg to throw the muscles in balance. A, purpose of the invention is to develop a proper functional standing position to throw the muscles of the leg and trunk in such a position as to obtain proper coordination and balance.

Various changes may be made in the principles of my invention without departing from the spirit thereof, as set forth in the description, drawings and claims.

I claim:

1- In n exercising device a balance board comprising a pair of boards spaced apart longitudinally, each of said boards being inclined downwardly and outwardly from the center, and a spacing board extending vertically between the inner edges of the inclined boards and means to immovably support said boards.

2. In an exercising device,-a plurality of end blocks having upper downwardly and outwardly inclined surfaces, a pair of boards extending longitudinally and connected at their ends to the said upper inclined surfaces, the inner edges of said boards being spaced apart.

3. In an exercising device, the combination of a pair of end blocks having upper downwardly and outwardly inclined top surfaces, a pair of boards extending between said blocks, the boards being outwardly and downwardly inclined, said boards being spaced apart, and a Vertical spacing board between the inner edges of said inclined boards.

4. In an exercisingdevice, a stand having a cut-out section with a pair of lugs on each side of the cut-out section,a block, a pair of boards secured to said block, said boards having their upper surfaces inclined outwardly and downwardly in a transverse direction, and a pin through the lugs and through the said block.

5. In an exercising device, the combination of a plurality of stands each having upper cut-out sections with a pair of lateral lugs with holes therethrough, a plurality of end blocks having upper outwardly and down wardly inclined surfaces, a pair of boards having their ends secured to said blocks, the inner edges of said boards being spaced apart, and said blocks having holes therethrough and a pin fitting through the holes in the lugs and the holes in the blocks.

6. In an exercising device, the combination of a stand having a cutout section in itstop with lateral lugs and holes through said lugs, an end block having outwardly and down wardly inclined upper surfaces, a pair of boards secured to said inclined surfaces, the inner edges of the board being spaced apart, the block having a pin therethrough, said pin engaging the holes in the lugs, a structure having a flight of steps, the treads of the steps being inclined outwardly and downwardly in a transverse direction the inclination of the steps and the boards being substantially the same to force the feet of the person exercising into the same position when on the steps and 1 the boards.

surface downwardly and outwardly inclined,

a pair of boards secured to said inclined surfaces-,the boards being spaced apart and having a detachable vertical board in the said space, the lugs having holes therethrough, and there being holes in the blocks and pins fitting in said holes connecting the stands and the blocks.

8. In an exercising device, as claimed in claim 7,a structure having a flight of steps, saidv steps having boards inclined clownwardly and outwardly considered transversesaid surfaces, and means interconnecting the blocks and the boards to adjust the inclination of the boards.

10. In an exercising device, the combination of a plurality of blocks, each having upper outwardly and downwardly inclined top surfaces, a pair of boards connected to the inclined surfaces by a hinge connection. at

the upper and inner corners of the boards,

said boards being spaced apart, and a vertical separating board in the said space, and means interconnecting the block and the boards to adjust the inclination of said boards.

11. In an exercising device, the combination of a pair of balance boards spaced apart laterally each being inclined downwardly and outwardly in a transverse direction from each other, and meansto removably support said boards with the longitudinal axis substantially horizontal or slightly inclined thereto, whereby a person may walk on the board with the feet spaced apart. 7

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

CHARLES L. LOWVMAN. 

